This application claims priority of German Patent Document No. DE 100 50 689.5, filed on Oct. 13, 2001, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a structure, which is intended for the absorption of impact energy and is disposed in the interior of a motor vehicle and serves to protect a passenger from impacting against parts of the vehicle body.
It is known to attach deformation elements at critical points in the interior of a motor vehicle. Said deformation elements serve to absorb a passenger""s energy of impact at these critical points on the interior of the vehicle body and to thus reduce the risk of injury caused by such an impact. Such deformation elements are made, for example, of foam, which is disposed behind the interior trim.
Furthermore, it is known from the U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,744 to provide a deformation element in the form of a deformable tube to secure a pillar in the interior of the motor vehicle. Said deformation element is deformed elastically during impact and unfolds again like a spring after making impact. In this way, the elastic deformation absorbs the impact energy.
The European Patent Document No. EP 0 955 227 A2 also describes a deformation element in the form of a tube, which is disposed between a post of the car body and a trim of the vehicle. In the case of this prior art deformation element, the rigidity of the walls of the tube can be set and adapted as a function of the place of application in the interior of the vehicle.
An object of the present invention is to provide an absorption structure that effectively absorbs the impact energy when a passenger impacts against parts of the interior of a vehicle body, such as structural member parts, for example, pillars, and thus reduces the risk of injury to the passenger of the vehicle.
Such a problem is solved by the inventive structure, which is intended for the absorption of impact energy and is disposed in the interior of a vehicle between the body and the trim and is characterized in that it exhibits in its cross section, different areas of different rigidity. The different areas of different rigidity have the advantage that, when the passenger impacts against the structure of the invention, said structure reacts to the impact differently in its different areas of different rigidity, such that more rigid areas will deform less severely than less rigid areas. Correspondingly the impacting part of the passenger penetrates further into the softer part of the absorption structure than into the harder part. With this configuration, the softer part of the inventive structure absorbs the kinetic energy of the impacting passenger by means of a deformation while at the same time, in the harder part of the structure, the force of the impacting passenger is transformed into rotational energy. In this way, said passenger is twisted when bouncing off the energy-absorbing inventive structure in a direction that is optimal for avoiding severe injuries.
According to a preferred embodiment, the energy-absorbing structure exhibits a more rigid area, to which a less rigid area adjoins. This embodiment of the energy-absorbing structure guarantees that the impact energy is absorbed over the more rigid area by means of deformation. At the same time the less rigid area, adjoining said more rigid area, gives way. Energy is also absorbed due to this deforming resilience. In this way, the impacting body part of the passenger rolls away from the harder area in the direction of the softer area. Thus, the result is an automatic rotation, due to which the impacting part of the passenger""s body can be moved away from the critical areas thus reducing a risk of injury.
It has proved especially advantageous, if the inventive structure for absorbing the impact energy is made of sheet metal. By using this material the contour shape of the structure is easy to produce by bending. The more rigid area can be realized, for example, by means of an S-shaped segment, whereas the less rigid area is a planar, non-supported segment.
The different rigidities can also be realized by means of different thicknesses of sheet metal. Another possibility lies in the reinforcement of individual areas of the plates by means of lock beading.
According to another embodiment, the inventive structure is mounted on an A pillar of a motor vehicle and in particular in the area against which a passenger""s head can possibly impact in the event of an accident.
It has proved especially advantageous when the more rigid area of the absorption structure is assigned to such parts of the vehicle body that constitute a higher risk with respect to the risk of injury, such as the door stop (door catcher). Thus, it is guaranteed that the part that impacts against the structure of the invention is moved away specifically from this place by means of the described transformation into rotational energy.
The structure can exhibit an area with which it is fastened to the body of the motor vehicle. If this area is molded directly to the structure, the results offer special advantages during production and assembly, because no additional joint elements are necessary, thus saving a significant expense. This area that is molded on can be fastened, for example, with the aid of the already existing door stop to the vehicle bodyxe2x80x94here the A pillar post. The results are additional cost advantages.
Since the structure, according to the invention, is not solid, such as the foam elements described previously, there are, besides the already listed advantages, the possibility of integrating other functional elements, such as a safety strap of a side bag.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.